Escape

This page is in need of spading. See its section on the spading page for more information, and how you can help.Generation V and VI formula, if different

This article is about the game mechanic. For the Pokémon Adventures round whose Japanese title translates to "Escape!!", see PS268.

Escaping via Smoke Ball in Generation III.

In the core series Pokémon games, it is possible to escape from a battle with a wild Pokémon by selecting "Run" on the main battle screen. Escape is not guaranteed however; whether the player is successful at running away from the battle is determined by a calculation involving the speed of the combatants. When the escape is successful, the battle ends immediately. When it is not successful, the wild Pokémon will attack the player's Pokémon.

It is not possible to escape from in-game Trainer battles. However, in player battles in the Cable or Wireless Clubs, attempting to escape will cause the battle to end immediately. If only one player attempts to escape, the battle counts as a loss against them, but if both players attempt to escape in the same turn, the battle ends in a draw.

Entering a battle with a wild Pokémon and then escaping counts the Pokémon as being seen in the Trainer's Pokédex.

Success conditions

Generation I and II

Under normal circumstances, the chance of escaping is determined by the formula , where

C is the number of times the player has tried to escape during the battle (counting the current attempt). If player's Pokémon attacks, this number is set to 0.

If F is greater than 255, the player escapes automatically. Otherwise, a random number is generated between 0 and 255. If that number is less than F, the player escapes. If not, the escape fails and the player's Pokémon does not make a move that turn. If B is equal to 0, escape is automatically a success.

Generation III and IV

Under normal circumstances, the chance of escaping is determined by the formula , where

C is the number of times the player has tried to escape during the battle (counting the current attempt).

The result is mod 256.

A random number is generated between 0 and 255. If that number is less than F, the player escapes. If not, the escape fails and the player's Pokémon does not make a move that turn. If B is 0, it's set to 1.

Other factors

Several other conditions can cause escape to always succeed or always fail.

An opponent Pokémon with the Ability Shadow Tag causes the player's escape attempts to fail if the player's Pokémon does not also have Shadow Tag.

An opponent Pokémon with the Ability Arena Trap causes the player's escape attempts to fail if the player's Pokémon is not Flying type or levitating.

Trapping moves used by the opponent can prevent the player from even making escape attempts. (When the player selects "Run", "Can't escape!" would be shown but the turn is not wasted.)

If the player's Pokémon is under the effect of Ingrain, it will be unable to escape.

Use of the move Teleport will guarantee escape from a wild Pokémon if it is not using or bearing any of the aforementioned moves or abilities.

If the player's Pokémon is holding a Smoke Ball or has the Ability Run Away, it will always successfully escape (ignoring anything above that would prevent escape).

In Generation III and IV, if the player's Pokémon that has Run Away or a Smoke Ball faints, if the player attempts to flee instead of sending out another Pokémon, they will escape without fail.

While not effects that directly affect escape, using the moves Whirlwind or Roar in a wild battle forces the wild Pokémon to leave the battle, which has the same effect as escaping. However, if the wild Pokémon has the Ability Suction Cups or has used the move Ingrain previously in the battle, it will be immune to Whirlwind and Roar. Similarly, a Pokémon that has the Ability Soundproof is immune to Roar.